The Psychic Turnabout
by dearfriendicanfly
Summary: "...Why was his case turned down?" "Because the killer was a ghost, and Shishou was possessed." A heavy silence hung in the air. Mob looked anywhere but at Nick and Maya, who exchanged a glance with one another, and they knew they were both thinking the same thing. Goddammit, again?
1. The Greatest Lawyer of the 21st Century

**October 13th, 9:27 AM**  
 **Wright Anything Agency**

It was the first time in a while that things were starting to feel... normal.

After coming home from Khura'in, things at the Wright Anything Agency had been pretty weird. Apollo being halfway across the globe was weird. Trucy throwing herself into her magician work to take her mind off Apollo and being away from the office for days at a time was weird. Athena talking twice as much and three times as loud to fill the silence in the office was sweet – but still weird. It gave Nick a creeping feeling of familiarity, and he remembered the way his office gradually emptied out nine years ago after he was disbarred. It made it hard to sit at his desk most mornings.

But then there was Maya, and Maya wasn't weird at all. Even after three years absence, Maya was as much a fixture of the place as Wright Anything Agency as any of its agents, having predated all of them – even good ol' Charley, the eternal office mascot, had been picked out by Maya herself when her sister had first furnished the office. Whenever she had time away from her duties as master of Kurain village, she came down to visit the office. And like some kind of balm, her presence always managed to soothe whatever was ailing the little Agency.

Today, Trucy had a show, as was usual lately. She'd dragged poor Athena off to fulfill her harrowing duty as magician's assistant, leaving Nick alone to hold down the fort. But when Maya dropped by with her usual warning (none) and her favorite watering can for Charley, any loneliness Nick felt slowly started to ebb away. The morning was starting slow without any calls from clients, and as Nick stared out the office window at the hotel across the street, Maya's favorite old Steel Samurai DVD playing on the office TV, he felt twenty four and content again.

Things were finally starting to feel normal, and that should have been the first warning.

"Hey, Nick?"

He was brought out of his reverie with a start and glanced over at where Maya had moved from the couch to the far window, staring down at the street with a frown.

"What's up?" Nick asked, stifling a yawn as he stood to his feet and peered over her shoulder.

Maya squinted a little in reply. "Hmm."

"Hmm?"

"Hmm. That kid's been standing in front of the building for a while now."

Nick followed her gaze down to the sidewalk in front of their office building to see a bobbing head of dark hair, shuffling about uncertainly by the entrance. The two of them watched for a minute, but any time the kid looked like they might actually walk inside, they seemed to change their mind and fiddled with a piece of paper instead.

"Maybe we should go down and say something," Maya pondered. "Ask them what the trouble is."

Nick shrugged, glancing at Maya. "Wouldn't that be a little nosy?"

Maya shook her head emphatically. "Of course not! We're just two concerned citizens looking out for a poor, lost kid. Aren't you like the world's biggest softie for kids in trouble, anyway?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm not that bad. Besides, you don't even know if the kid's lost."

"But they could be! Or maybe they might even be a client, trying to make the fateful decision of whether or not to put their life into the hands of the infamous Phoenix Wright."

"Or maybe they're just waiting to meet someone in front of the building." He frowned. "Wait, ' _infamous_ '?"

Maya pouted. "You have no imagination, Nick."

"Ah- I guess it doesn't matter now," Nick mumbled, looking down at the now empty sidewalk. "They're gone."

Maya sighed. "Damn. And just when I thought we were gonna–"

The two of them jumped out of their skin as a knock sounded from the office door, and Maya whipped around to shoot Nick a grin equal parts smug and delighted. Nick bit back a smile of his own and quickly dove for the TV remote, shutting off the Steel Samurai special, while Maya grabbed a random law book from the shelf and tried to look busy. Then they shared a nod, and Nick opened the door with his best professional smile.

"Welcome to the Wright Anything Agency," he said cheerfully. "Come on in."

The boy who stood in the door was indeed the very same one from the street, still wearing his middle school uniform and carrying a backpack on his shoulder and a slightly crumpled sheet of paper in his hand. His hair was dark and straight and worn in a bowlcut, with his bangs hanging a little in his eyes. He seemed hesitant to cross the threshold into the office, but after a moment's thought, he nodded politely and took a step forward, glancing around the room without a word.

Maya looked up sharply, the book dangling from her hand, forgotten along with her favorite studious legal assistant routine. Her eyes widened as she looked at the kid, gaping a little. It wasn't until he caught her eye and started to look flustered that she finally seemed to snap out of it, smoothing over her expression. "Oh– hello there!" she said cordially. "Maya Fey, spirit channeler and legal assistant extraordinaire at your service." She held out a hand to the boy, whose face seemed to light up a little at her words.

"Um... I'm Kageyama Shigeo," he said, taking her hand hesitantly. "But most people call me Mob. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Mob!" Maya broke into a wide smile and gestured to one of the couches in the center of the office. "Please, have a seat!"

Mob gingerly moved a plate of floating spaghetti from the cushion and sat down.

Nick and Maya sat across from him on the other couch, waiting expectantly. But Mob said nothing, instead looking curiously past the two of them at some point above their heads. Nick glanced over his shoulder, but there wasn't anything there.

That seemed to shake Mob from his thoughts and he met Nick's eye with an unexpected intensity – or perhaps it was the lack of intensity that was unexpected, because Mob's face was awfully blank, despite the sensation that the boy could see straight through you. It made Nick's hairs stand on end a little, and by Maya's quiet intake of breath, he suspected she felt the same.

"W-What can we do for you?" Nick asked, clearing his throat.

Mob pondered this for a moment, glancing down at the paper in his hands. "Well... I need a lawyer," he began slowly, "but I'm afraid you might not take my case."

Nick blinked. A lawyer...? For a middle schooler?

"Well good news!" Maya said cheerfully. "Nick here will take on any case, really. One time he represented a whale. He's not very picky."

Nick grimaced, but that seemed to get a small smile out of Mob.

"What Maya means to say," Nick sighed, "is that the Wright Anything Agency will do... well... anything you need us to do. You can count on us!"

Mob nodded slowly, and it didn't occur to Nick how stiffly the boy had been holding himself until Nick saw his shoulders start to relax as if his whole body had sighed in relief. "Thank you," he said. "Then I'll tell you my story, if that's okay."

Nick and Maya leaned in closer, nodding in encouragement.

Mob took a deep breath and said, "I work at the Spirits and Such Consultation Office."

Nick stiffened and glanced at Maya out of the corner of his eye. As master of the Kurainese technique of spirit channeling, Nick knew she was particularly sensitive when it came to phony mediums, psychics, and the like. It was an affront to her culture and her beliefs. But strangely, she nodded him on, quite literally on the edge of her seat.

Mob continued, "My Shishou is a psychic named Reigen Arataka. I perform exorcisms for him sometimes, but last night he went on a job alone." His eyes flickered like he was glancing at something on his left, but it was so quick, Nick thought he might have imagined it. "Since it's Friday the thirteenth, we get a lot of prank calls and false alarms from the evening before into the morning after, so I usually don't need to come into work during that time."

Maya's eyes were like saucers. "You... exorcise spirits?"

Mob nodded timidly. "I'm an esper as well. I can't do any kind of seances or channellings like you, though," he added, glancing at Maya.

Maya chewed her lip, but didn't say anything more.

Mob cleared his throat and plowed onwards, squirming a little in his seat. "I... know Shishou went to answer a call from last night about a haunted house, but late last night on the news, they were saying he..." He frowned a little, his fingers leaving more and more creases in the paper as his grip tightened. Nick felt the hair begin to stand on the back of his head for reasons he couldn't quite explain, and when he glanced at Maya, he saw that she had turned a little pale.

But after a moment, the strange pressure in the air subsided and Mob's expression evened out once again. "They were saying someone had been arrested for a murder at the house Shishou went to. When my brother and I went to the police station to ask about it, they said Shishou was the one who had been arrested."

Nick's heart sank. "So then your boss, he needs a lawyer because he's been charged with murder?"

"Yes."

"And you think there's no way he could have done it?"

Mob rubbed his chin in thought. "...No, he couldn't have."

" _That was a really long pause, kid! Are you sure you believe in him?_ "

"I do."

Nick was a little startled by the matter-of-fact response. That time, Mob didn't hesitate. "Shishou would never harm another person. I know he didn't hurt anyone." He said it with the same kind of mild mannered honesty Nick might use if someone asked if he was sure that Maya had watered Charley today. The answer seemed obvious. Nick nodded slowly, and Mob continued. "So I went to the detention center this morning to ask him what happened, and he said..." Mob hesitated, glancing at Nick uncertainly. When he spoke again, he changed gears. "He said Serizawa-san was looking for a lawyer. So I called Serizawa-san and asked if he'd found one, and he said he'd been turned down by every one he called."

Nick's chest tightened as he looked a little more closely at Mob's eyes, half hidden under his bangs. Dark circles hung beneath them like bruises. The kid obviously cared a lot about his mentor.

He glanced over at the space beneath his window at the ghost of an eleven year old bloodstain that had never quite come out of the carpet.

"...Why was his case turned down?" he finally asked, turning back to Mob.

Mob fiddled idly with the paper in his hand, nearly crumpling it beyond recovery. "Because..." He took another deep breath. "Because the killer was a ghost, and Shishou was possessed."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Mob looked anywhere but at Nick and Maya, who exchanged a glance with one another, and they knew they were both thinking the same thing.

 _Goddammit, again?_

After a moment, Mob cleared his throat nervously. "I-I came to you because of this," he said, holding out the now nearly illegible paper. But when Nick took it, he recognized the photograph at the top of the page as one of Dahlia Hawthorne.

"I was looking for other lawyers who might be espers," he explained, a little sheepish, "but I found that article about a spirit testifying in court with the help of a medium." Mob's earnest gaze turned to Maya. "I thought if anyone would believe me, it would be you."

Maya looked at the picture of Dahlia, eyes narrowed. "Ah."

Mob started to fidget again and turned to Nick. "I-I don't have much money, but I'm sure Shishou would be able to pay whatever fee you need."

Nick hesitated. Just the memory of Dahlia and Iris's trial was already starting to make him feel ill, even before they'd started looking for any spirits. And if he felt ill, he knew Maya must have felt even shittier. "Well... I don't kn–"

" _Please_."

And suddenly that pressure was in the air again, sending a chill down Nick's spine. But as Mob scrambled off the couch and lowered his nose to the floor, a lump rose in Nick's throat. The poor kid was trembling. "I know this is a lot to ask," Mob said quietly, his voice muffled by the carpet, "a-and I promise after this is over, we won't bother your agency again. But _please_. I... don't know what else to do."

Before Nick could speak, Maya walked over to kneel beside Mob and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Mob?"

Mob looked up nervously, and Maya coaxed him into sitting up straight. "Remember our name?"

"...The Wright Anything Agency?"

"That's right. And that means we'll do anything to prove our clients innocent." She winked. "Even a little ghost hunting."

Mob's eyes went wide. "Then you'll-?!"

"We'll take the case," Nick said firmly, kneeling down at Mob's other side. He smiled warmly, helping Mob back up to his feet. "Your boss must be a good guy if he's got somebody like you working for him."

Mob's face turned pink and he stammered out a polite denial, brushing the dust off his pant legs. Nick grimaced, making a mental note to vacuum the carpet in the office ASAP.

"T-Thank you," Mob said, bowing low, his voice suddenly effused with an unexpected warmth. "I can take you to Shishou, if you want."

"Give me just a second to lock up," Nick said, "we'll meet you downstairs."

Mob nodded and bowed again, then scurried off down the hall.

When he was out of sight, Nick turned to Maya and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You okay with this?" he asked quietly, frowning. "Like... really okay?"

Maya nodded, grinning. "Especially since I was right about you being a big ol' softie for kids in trouble."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he mumbled. "Even if we're defending a fake psychic, though?"

Maya blinked. "Fake? What do you mean?"

"...Not real? Unless the definition of 'fake' has changed since the last time I read the dictionary."

She gaped at him. "Nick, are you serious right now? Like really really for real? You couldn't feel it when he walked in the door?"

"Feel _what?_ "

"He's a real psychic, you dummy!"

Nick raised an eyebrow, looking back at the doorway where Mob had just disappeared.

 _Well_ , he thought tiredly, _so much for being back to normal_.


	2. The Greatest Psychic of the 21st Century

**October 13th, 9:52 AM**  
 **Detention Center**  
 **Visitor's Room**

Mob was quiet as they waited in the Visitor's Room. It made Nick a little curious. Most clients tended to babble nervously to try to ease the mood, or reiterate the defendant's innocence, but Mob just sat in the waiting room in silence and looked... thoughtful. Occasionally, he glanced just above his left shoulder, frowning slightly, but said nothing. The air in the room as they waited was strangely oppressive. It didn't help that the security camera was boring a hole in the side of Nick's head, as always, or that the guard was staring stubbornly at the opposite wall in his usual stony silence. Nick wondered vaguely if he ever left that room, or if maybe he was some kind of mannequin put there to make the precinct look less understaffed.

"Are you worried?" Nick finally asked, startling Mob from his thoughts.

"Ah- no," he said, a little shy, "I trust you to help Shishou."

Nick's heart swelled a little. Despite Mob's demeanor, there was a sweet kind of earnestness about him.

"And right you are," Maya chimed in with a wink. "You can put your faith in us! We've never lost a case. Well, except for that one time when we did it on purpose, but–"

"I think he gets the point," Nick said hurriedly.

A smile played at the corners of Mob's mouth. As he relaxed, the air in the room became less suffocating.

"Reigen Arataka," came a sudden harsh bark over the intercom, making all three of them nearly jump out of their skins. As the door behind the glass opened, Mob's smile disappeared, and Nick wasn't sure what to make of his pursed lips and tense shoulders.

 _Just who is this Shishou?_

The man who entered the room behind the glass didn't exactly look the part of a wise and all knowing mystic. For one thing, he was young – or younger than Nick, in any case. Reigen was tall and lanky, with reddish blond hair that stuck up in cowlicks around his temples, and dressed in a cheap-looking gray suit and bright pink tie. When he entered the room, he carried himself with a lazy confidence that was somewhat undermined by the sweat already beading at his forehead and a pair of restless hands.

When his eyes landed on Mob he froze, suddenly drawing himself up a little straighter, and wiped his brow under the guise of brushing his messy bangs from his eyes. "Oi, Mob," he said smoothly, sitting down in the chair across from the three of them. "Weren't you just here a couple hours ago? You oughta head home, or you'll worry your brother half to death."

"I'm fine," Mob said quietly, avoiding Reigen's eye. "I found a lawyer for you."

Reigen glanced between Nick and Maya, eyes widening slightly. When he spoke again, his voice was gentler. "You didn't have to do that, Mob."

"You're welcome."

Reigen opened his mouth to retort, but seemed to think better of it, clearing his throat. "Right. I mean, thank you, Mob. But from now on, how about you take it easy and let Serizawa handle this... issue, okay?"

Mob didn't reply, but both he and Reigen glanced at the same spot above Mob's shoulder, looking irritated. Nick raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't tell what exactly it was they were looking at.

Reigen caught Nick's expression and cleared his throat again, leaning a little closer to the glass. "Mob, why don't you step outside for a bit so I can talk with Mr...?"

"Wright. Phoenix Wright. And this is my assistant, Maya Fey."

"Right, thanks. Pleased to meet you."

Mob glanced at Nick and Maya, then back at Reigen. Mob hadn't looked him in the eye since he'd come in the room, but now that he did, Reigen squirmed a little, his eyes darting. Mob let out a quiet sigh and stood to his feet. "All right."

As he turned to the door, Reigen called out, "Hey, Mob?"

Mob stopped and turned around, his expression unreadable.

Reigen chewed his lip, starting to sweat again. He seemed to be searching for something to say, or maybe the right way to say it. But after a moment, he rubbed the back of his neck and let out a breath. "...Make sure to have Serizawa reimburse you for the train home."

Mob stared Reigen down for what felt like an eternity, until he finally dropped his gaze with a quiet, "Yes, Shishou."

When the door closed behind him, Reigen flinched and looked a little rueful.

 _...Jeez_ , Nick thought.

Maya cleared her throat.

And with that, Reigen snapped out of his reverie as though nothing had happened. "Sorry," he said smoothly, "how rude of me. Mr. Wright, Ms. Fey, thank you for taking my case."

"So you're..."

"Reigen Arataka, greatest psychic of the twenty first century!" The self-proclaimed psychic spoke more with his hands than he did his words, as if he was trying to distract from the sweat already beading at his temples and the twitch around his mouth. Nick was reminded of something Trucy said about conversational sleight of hand.

Reigen, he thought with a frown, was a performer. And judging by the thinly veiled disappointment on Maya's face, Nick guessed she thought the same.

He stuck a hand in his pocket, fiddling absently with the magatama. "Mob said you've been charged with murder."

Reigen ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, but his swallow was audible even from across the glass. "Occupational hazard, am I right?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"

"Oh, sure!" Reigen laughed a little harshly. "I mean, death is kind of part of my business. Although killing people to increase demand isn't exactly my kind of marketing scheme."

"I totally get it," Maya said somberly. "I've been tried for murder three times, myself."

Reigen stared. "That's... unfortunate."

He seemed to look a little more closely at Maya after that, frowning as he took in her spirit medium's garb. "Say, you said your name was..."

"Fey," Maya said, looking Reigen straight in the eye. "Maya Fey, master of the Kurain school of spirit channeling."

Reigen swallowed again. "Mob sure knows how to pick 'em," he murmured.

Maya puffed her cheeks indignantly. "He _picked_ us because he thought we'd be more likely to buy your ghost story." She leaned in closer to the glass, eyes narrowed. "Or was that just baloney?"

The word _baloney_ sort of undermined her threatening tone, but Reigen seemed to get the message loud and clear all the same. He held his hands up in surrender, trying to smooth out his expression into a smile. "Now, now," he laughed nervously, "I didn't mean it like that, Miss Fey, it just amazed me that Mob managed to find the one lawyer in this town with a spirit medium as an assistant, ahaha."

 _Baloney_ , Nick thought.

Reigen cleared his throat and fidgeted a bit with his tie. "Sorry. I'm just a bit on edge. I didn't expect Mob to..." And there was that rueful look again, as Reigen's eyes flitted to the door Mob let slam behind him. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down a little, meeting Maya's eye steadily. "I'm not making it up. I can't remember what happened in that house because I was possessed by a spirit."

Maya stared him down for a long time, squinting hard as if she were searching for something. After what felt like an hour, she broke into a smile and pressed her hands together approvingly. "I believe him, Nick."

Nick raised an eyebrow, but he didn't see any psyche locks appearing in front of Reigen, either. Which meant that Reigen was telling the truth, or at least thought that he was.

"Well, Maya here's the expert," Nick said jovially, "so if she believes you, so do I." Still, he got the sense that the spiritualist was hiding something. He held the magatama a little tighter in his hand.

Reigen looked relieved, his shoulders sinking a little as the tension left them. "Good! Wonderful. Thank you." He tried to play it cool, but the dark circles beneath his eyes and downturned corners of his mouth were pretty familiar to Nick by now. The man was at his wit's end. He felt a stab of pity for him, and for the poor kid who'd gone through all the trouble to track down somebody who would believe his story.

"Can you tell us what you _do_ remember?" Nick asked, not unkindly.

"Of course," Reigen said, clearing his throat. He drew himself up to sit up straight, and his voice and body language once again took on the tone of a performer – no, that wasn't quite it. More like a salesman. "Friday the 13th tends to be a busy day at the Spirits and Such Consultation Office, but we usually get a lot of prank calls and party invites from people who want to put on a show or hold a seance or something. Most of those calls are easy enough to schedule and handle by myself, so that's what I do. But yesterday I got a call from somebody about a haunted house near Salt Middle School."

"A haunted house?" Maya said, her eyes sparkling. Nick tried not to roll his eyes. For a spirit medium who dealt with ghosts every day, she sure loved the paranormal.

"A murder took place there decades ago apparently," Reigen explained. "But the body was never found, so there wasn't much of a case and the killer got away. So the spirit of the victim supposedly haunts the vacant house."

Nick looked unimpressed. "Spooky."

Reigen laughed hoarsely, sweat beading at his forehead again. "That's what I thought, too. The caller was just some thrill-seeker who wanted to try to get the ghost on camera and thought I might be able to help, so I figured I'd humor him and arranged to meet him at the house at midnight last night."

"And he showed?"

Reigen gulped. "Yeah... he did... we walked around the house for a while, filming stuff, calling out to the spirit, the usual paranormal investigator stuff people see on tv. Most of these kinds of callers just want that experience, you know?"

Nick didn't like where this was going. "And you two were the only ones in the house...?"

Reigen paled. "Yeah. I suppose it's not hard to guess the rest."

Nick swallowed, and he could feel Maya shifting uncomfortably in her seat next to him. "What do you remember?"

Reigen closed his eyes and screwed up his face in concentration, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "There was a bedroom... on the second floor. That's the last room I remember going into. The client – Norman, I think was his name – was behind me. He yelled something about the ghost, so I turned around, but..." The psychic gulped, opening his eyes and running a hand through his hair. "Next thing I know, I'm on the sidewalk in front of the house, which is on fire."

Nick's eyes widened. " _Fire?_ "

"Yeah. Just the top floor, though. I guess it hadn't spread downstairs yet. I looked around the sidewalk, but I couldn't see Norman anywhere, so I went back inside – just into the foyer, mind you – and called out to him, but I didn't hear a response."

Nick and Maya both felt a chill.

"I was about to go back outside and see if maybe I'd missed him somehow, but that's when I heard sirens. Right after that, the firemen came in and I told them there might be somebody else in the house, so they rushed upstairs and shooed me out." Reigen tapped his fingers restlessly on his upper arm. "When they came back down and out of the house, they told me they were gonna need me to come down to the station, because they'd found a... a body with a knife in it upstairs."

There was a long silence after that. Nick gripped the magatama like a vice, but no psyche locks appeared. Maya sat on the edge of her seat, enthralled by Reigen's story. And Reigen himself looked a bit ill. Nick even thought he saw the security guard leaning in a little bit closer.

"Any idea where the knife came from?" Nick asked slowly.

"It was Norman's." Reigen let out a breath, trying to compose himself. "Just an average swiss army knife. He brought it with him, along with all his other equipment. I figured he only brought it to use some of the other tools on it in case we needed to get into a locked room or something, and he seemed harmless so I let it slide."

Maya shook her head. "We have a strict rule against weapons in the Channeling Chamber in my village. You never know what a spirit might do."

Reigen sighed. "Yeah, well, hindsight's twenty-twenty."

Something still felt off. Reigen seemed to be relaxing now that he'd found someone to believe his claims, but he was still sweating. His eyes still darted, more than once, Nick noticed, to the door where Mob had left. And although no psyche locks had appeared, the magatama felt warm in the palm of Nick's hand. He'd learned over the years that it usually takes asking just the right questions to put up a person's guard and activate the psyche locks. As long as a person was confident in their lie, the magatama couldn't help him. And Reigen, he could already guess, was a very confident liar.

Reigen seemed to feel Nick's eyes boring into him, and he glanced over at him, swallowing nervously. "That's all I really know," he admitted, "but those detectives who questioned me earlier can probably tell you more about the... the body." His eyes lit up. "Oh! And I should give you the number to my office. Serizawa's a real dependable guy, he can give you a hand with anything you need." Nick took out an old, beat up notebook from his pocket and wrote down the number and address Reigen gave him, as well as the address of the crime scene.

"I think that's about all we need," Maya said, standing up and stretching. "Right, Nick?"

"Right..." Nick didn't stand. "Just one last question, though."

Reigen eyed him cautiously. "Of course."

"If Friday the 13th is such a busy day, why did you give Mob the day off?"

And there it was. Five psyche locks suddenly appeared out of nowhere, chaining Reigen's heart with a resounding clang that only Nick could hear. Outwardly, Reigen shrugged, and offhandedly said, "It's a school day, and Serizawa can usually handle anything I need on his own." But the twitch around the corners of his mouth and the shaking in his fingers as he brushed a bit of hair from his eyes betrayed him.

Nick took a deep breath.

If he was going to take this case, it would mean putting his trust in a likely con man and believing in his innocence no matter what. Despite the fact that he was hiding something _big_.

But then Nick thought of Mob with his nose to the carpet back at the agency, the look in his eyes when he said that his boss was innocent as easily as if he'd said the sky was blue.

Even if he couldn't put his faith entirely in Reigen, then for now, he could at least trust in Mob.

"Okay." Nick stood to his feet. "...We'll go to the crime scene and talk to the detectives, then stop by your office and see what this Serizawa and I can do."

Reigen looked as if he'd deflated, as all the tension in his body left him like a punctured balloon. "Thank you... seriously."

"Don't thank us," Maya smiled. "Thank Mob."

Reigen looked down at his hands folded on the counter, his expression clouded. "Right... I should..." He looked up, suddenly more hesitant than he'd been through this entire interview. "Hey... would you do me a favor?"

Nick eyed him searchingly. "What is it?"

"...Take care of Mob for me. This whole ordeal is probably stressing him out a lot. If he gets stressed..." He cleared his throat. "Well, it doesn't matter. Just try not to let him get worked up, okay? He tends to overthink things."

Nick's expression softened as he took in Reigen's quiet voice and the way his thumb ran slowly over the side of his hand. He was starting to understand why Mob put his faith in him.

"We'll look after him," he said softly. "Don't worry. I'm a dad myself, you know."

Reigen turned bright red and started to splutter, "That's not what– I mean I'm not–"

But Nick and Maya had already left the room.

The security guard cracked the smallest of smiles.


	3. Greatest Detectives of the 21st Century

**October 13th, 10:38 AM**  
 **Haunted House**

The first thing that stood out about the house was that it was decidedly toasted. The second was that it was _big_ – a gothic two story affair with an expansive lawn wrapped around it, giving it a fairly wide berth from the other houses on the street. And the third was that it was swarming with police officers.

"Oh great," Nick muttered, "looks like they're not done with the crime scene..."

"Is it really okay to be here?" Mob looked around nervously, sticking close to his legal team.

Maya stroked her chin in thought. "Maybe the fire slowed things down? It must make it harder to find evidence."

"You've got that right, pal."

The three of them nearly jumped out of their skins, but Nick and Maya's eyes widened at the familiar voice. And when they whirled around, they found that it wasn't just the voice that they recognized – a familiar well-worn coat, a familiar shadow cast upon them by a pair of broad shoulders, a familiar beaming grin spreading across a familiar scruffy face.

Nick's jaw dropped. "D... Detective..."

"GUMSHOE!" Maya cried, suddenly forgetting where she was and launching herself at the detective, nearly tackling him in a hug.

"Whoa-! Careful, pal," he chuckled, staggering to maintain his balance, but he returned the hug with enough force to nearly lift her off the ground. "Long time, no see!"

When Gumshoe and Maya finally broke apart, the detective turned to Nick with a warm twinkle in his eye and grabbed his hand, pumping it with enthusiasm. He'd let his beard grow in more fully, and new lines had started to spider from the corners of his eyes where they crinkled when he smiled. "The circumstances kinda suck, but... it's good to see you two troublemakers again."

Nick was surprised to catch a smile of his own creeping at the corners of his mouth, and he gripped Gumshoe's hand tightly. "Troublemakers? Us? Since when?"

Mob must have been confused, but he watched the scene with a polite smile, as if thinking, Aww, that's nice.

"And who're you, pal?" Gumshoe asked, not unkindly, leaning down a little to talk to Mob without towering over him so much. "You seem pretty young to be a lawyer!"

Mob looked startled at being addressed directly. "Oh- um, I'm Kageyama Shigeo, I'm just–"

"A consultant," Nick interjected quickly, clearing his throat a little. "Or... something like that." He doubted Gumshoe would let Mob into the crime scene if they mentioned that he worked at Reigen's office. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.

"Consultant, huh?" Gumshoe squinted a little at Nick out of the corner of his eye, but held out a hand and a somewhat goofy grin to Mob all the same. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Kageyama!"

Mob was nearly lifted off his feet by Gumshoe's emphatic handshake. "N-Nice to m-meet you too," he managed, trying to keep his balance as Gumshoe happily shook his hand, even as he turned back to Nick.

"I'm guessing you two are defending that Reigen guy?" Gumshoe asked, laughing a little. "I had a feeling you would, with your track record 'n all."

Nick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Haha, yeah..."

"Ghost killers is kind of our niche," Maya shrugged.

"Got all your papers in order, pal?"

"Always do, Detective."

"Heh, that ain't how I remember it, Mr. Wright."

"Y-You can let g-go of my hand now," Mob said mildly.

"Ah-! Sorry pal!" Gumshoe let go and scratched the back of his head, apologizing profusely. Nick smiled. Some things never changed.

"Maya, how about you and Mob head into the house?" Nick asked, his voice low. "I'll talk to Gumshoe and see if I can buy you guys a few minutes to find the spirit in there."

"Roger!" Maya smiled.

"Hey, Detective?"

Gumshoe finally stopped fretting over Mob, turning to Nick. "Yeah, pal?"

"Anything you can tell me about the murder?"

"Oh, yeah, of course! Sorry, my head must be in the clouds, geez..." While he dug around for documents, Maya motioned for Mob to follow her and the two of them slipped off down the front lawn to the house.

"Here we go, autopsy report, let's see... vic's name was Perry Norman, 37, apparently an occult junkie. No close family but looks like he was identified this morning by another psychic he used to be a regular client of, which lines up with what your guy Reigen said." Gumshoe frowned, his brow furrowing as he read. "I'll be honest with you, pal, this one's a mess. It looks pretty bad for your client."

Nick gritted his teeth. Fantastic.

"Why, because of the fire?"

"Mostly, yeah," Gumshoe sighed. "The corpse was burnt to pretty much nothin' and there's not a whole lot we can get from it at this point. But forensics determined the cause of death to be a knife wound to the throat. Lines up with what the firefighters who arrived on the scene told us. No prints on the murder weapon, but I can't really see the vic stabbing _himself_ in the throat."

"Great... what about witnesses?"

Gumshoe shook his head. "None that saw the actual crime, but a few people in the neighborhood saw the two of 'em going into the house. One even picked your guy out in a lineup. And the guy who identified the body confirmed that he was a customer at Reigen's office."

Nick chewed back a grimace. "There's still a _chance_ somebody else was in the house, though, right? Maybe a squatter? Or somebody else who came in afterwards?"

"Well..." Gumshoe scratched his chin, thinking. "Definitely no squatters, there's no traces of anybody livin' in this house for years. I guess it ain't impossible for somebody else to have come in through the back where the neighbors couldn't see, but there's no signs of a break-in or nothin'. And your guy didn't say anything about a third party, either. He was pretty clear about bein' the only other person in the house."

"Besides the spirit, you mean."

Gumshoe pulled a face. "Aw, c'mon, don't start with that. You know I've seen some crazy stuff working with you guys but..." He let out a long breath, looking around, maybe to make sure there weren't any officers in earshot. When he leaned in, his voice was quiet. "Maya 'n her family are the exception to the rule, pal. You know how many people like this Reigen guy I've had to pull in for fraud? They've all got the same schtick. His is textbook."

Nick's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like he hadn't thought the same thing when he met Reigen, but he still didn't like hearing it from the prosecution.

"Y-You never know, Gumshoe," he said, trying to laugh it off. "I mean, I didn't even believe in ghosts before I met Maya. And I bet if you met a real psychic, you'd change your mind about that, too."

"Yeah, well, lemme know when you find one, pal," Gumshoe said drily. He let another breath whistle out between his teeth, looking Nick over from head to toe, suddenly scrutinizing. "Hey..." he started, hesitant. "Maybe this ain't the best time or place for it, but... you doing okay, Mr. Wright? I heard about your friend Apollo leavin' from Mr. Edgeworth."

The question took Nick by surprise, and he found that he wasn't sure how to answer. For a minute, he just sort of... stared. Then he cleared his throat, a little unnerved at the hollow feeling in his chest. "I'm okay," he lied. "It's just... busy without the extra hands."

Gumshoe squinted a little, but didn't press. "...Well, I'm sure you'll be able to find some extra help," he said bracingly, clapping Nick on the shoulder. "Must be plenty 'a lawyers out there dying to work with the famous Phoenix Wright!"

"Heh, I dunno about that, but... thanks. We'll get through it." Gumshoe gave his shoulder a squeeze, and that same old grin flashed across his face.

"Anyway, you're here for the crime scene, not for me," the detective chuckled, tucking his papers back into his bag. "I'll make a copy of the autopsy report and anything else you guys need and have 'em dropped off at your office before the afternoon's up. Or you can swing by the precinct if you've got the time."

"Thanks, Gumshoe." A warmth started to spread from the pit of Nick's stomach and he smiled. "It's good to see you again."

Gumshoe started to turn red from the tips of his ears and he rubbed his nose, his grin going a little gooey. "You too, pal."

* * *

Nick probably should have paid more attention to his surroundings as he presented his credentials and got past the patrolman into the house, but his mind started to wander. He thought about Gumshoe and the strange ache that hadn't left his chest since he saw him. He thought about being back on a case with Maya for the first time in a long, long time. He also thought about Gumshoe's beard and how he couldn't tease Maya by resting his elbow on her head anymore. She was tall enough to meet his eye, now.

He thought about Apollo, too. How the mention of his name made that ache in his chest so much sharper. And for some reason, he thought about the look on Reigen's face when he saw Mob in the visitor's room.

But his train of thought was suddenly derailed when he heard loud, familiar bickering coming from upstairs.

"I am _not_ letting a teenager into my crime scene, Maya."

"You let Trucy into your crime scenes all the time!"

"That's– she's– _that's different!_ "

Nick held back a groan and took the steps two at a time.

When he got to the top, he found Mob looking at him like a deer caught in headlights, sweating profusely. Behind him, Maya was bickering with a woman in a lab coat, who had spread herself out not unlike a starfish in the doorway to what Nick assumed was the crime scene, barring the way. Childish, but effective.

"Trucy works for– well, actually she _owns_ your agency!" Ema said stubbornly, gripping the doorjamb like a vice and planting her feet firmly against the sides. "That's a random middle schooler! Are you guys holding field trips now?!"

"C'mon," Maya whined, trying to peer over Ema's shoulder. "The body's not even in there anymore! He can handle it!" Mob seemed to disagree slightly, paling at the mention of a body.

This was not going well.

Nick coughed. "Morning, Ema."

Ema jumped, turning red. "H...Hey Mr. Wright," she said, clearing her throat and trying to look as dignified as she could, still splayed out in the doorway. "I dunno what you two are thinking, trying to bring a kid in here, but I'm gonna have to put my foot down this time."

Maya nodded at Ema's high heels lodged in the doorway. "You mean feet."

Ema scowled. "I'm not fooling around, Maya!"

"He's a consultant," Nick said hesitantly, cursing his luck. He'd suspected that Ema would be on the case, but he'd hoped that they might be able to bide their time and wait until she was occupied in some other part of the house to have a minute alone at the scene. But then, he wasn't sure what he expected, sending Maya alone to sneak in. Sneaking wasn't exactly her specialty.

"A consultant." Ema looked at him like he'd just sprouted antlers. "Not to be disrespectful, Mr. Wright, but I'm almost offended that you thought I'd buy that."

Mob looked down at his uniform sadly, as if regretting his wardrobe choice. Nick grimaced.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm serious, Ema."

"Mmhmm. What kind of consultant, then?"

"...The psychic kind...?"

Ema looked ready to slap him. "I'm _this_ close to throwing you out of my crime scene."

"Um... detective?"

Ema looked startled, glancing over at Mob. She must not have expected him to address her directly.

"Yeah, kiddo?" she said, trying to look stern. "If you need me to call your parents to get you, I can, just so you know."

"N-No," Mob said quickly, his mouth going a little funny at the mention of his parents. "That's okay. I was just wondering if you've ever seen Miss Maya's spirit channeling before."

Ema's eyes narrowed. "Yeah... why?"

"Oh, that's good. Could you give me your hand for just a minute, then?"

Ema stared. "Are you gonna... read my palm or something?"

"Erm, no, nothing like that."

Ema looked at him suspiciously, but extended a hand all the same. When Mob took it, Nick thought he saw a faint crackle of electricity, and Ema let out a yelp and yanked back her hand.

"What the hell was that, a joy buzzer?!" she hollered, turning red with anger. "You've got some nerve, kid, I've got half a mind to–"

Her voice suddenly died in her throat and she went pale, staring at that same point above Mob's shoulder that Nick kept seeing draw people's eyes. He looked at Mob, a little alarmed, but Mob just watched Ema quizzically.

"You can see it, right?" he asked.

Ema nodded slowly, her expression slowly shifting from alarm to confusion to mild disgust.

"Ah, I'm glad," Mob sighed, looking relieved. "Mr. Wright, Miss Maya, could I...?"

Nick and Maya glanced at each other, a little uncertain, but they slowly held out their own hands to Mob. He took one hand in each of his own, and suddenly, Nick felt something like an electric shock. He and Maya both cried out, pulling away, but that crackling sensation spread from Nick's hand down his arm and seemed to wash over his whole body, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It was like a concentrated form of that energy that he felt back in the office and the visitor's room. He and Maya looked at each other again, both a little shaken, but each confirming that the other was all right, they turned back to Mob.

"Yo," said what looked to be a bit of snot floating above Mob's shoulder.

Nick must have jumped nearly a foot in the air, letting out a noise that he was not at all proud of.

"That's Dimple," Mob said simply, as if that even begun to explain it.

"... I'm gonna let you guys take it from here," Ema said weakly, stepping out of the doorway.


	4. Greatest Prosecutor of the 21st Century

**  
Chapter Text**

 **October 13th, 10:57 AM**  
 **Haunted House**  
 **Murder Scene**

"So let me get this straight," Nick said slowly, now taking Ema's place in the doorway to try to keep his knees from collapsing. "That... thing... is a ghost? And it's been with us this whole time?"

"Oi, _that thing?_ " The green... whatever it was seemed to squint at Nick. He assumed that was what that look was, anyway. The little face hovering over Mob's shoulder was almost comically simple, like a child's drawing, complete with two bright red circles where its cheeks would be. The only thing that was uncomfortably detailed was its mouth, which was lined with two bright pink lips and a row of yellowed teeth. It looked to be just some kind of green gaseous cloud, about the size of a fist.

The little spirit scoffed, crossing a pair of arms that Nick was fairly certain weren't there a moment ago. "Have a little respect, won't you? You have no idea who you're dealing with. Shigeo," he said, giving Mob a nudge and looking smug, "tell them who I am."

"I already did. You're Dimple."

Dimple didn't seem to have a reply to that.

Ema shoved an entire fistful of chocolate Snackoos into her mouth.

"Okay," Nick said weakly. "Putting that aside... why can we see him now?"

Mob's hand crackled with that strange energy again, sparks winding between his fingers like a coin trick. "Dimple can appear visible to people when he wants," he explained, "but it would make trouble if everyone could see him all the time. Normally only people like me would be able to see him."

"So then... is he visible right now?"

Mob shook his head. "Just to us. A little while ago, I passed some of my psychic power onto Reigen-shishou. I'm not really sure how that worked, but even after he'd burned off all of it, he could still see Dimple. So I thought that maybe if I could do the same thing with a really little amount of energy, I could let people see spirits temporarily. I guess it worked."

Nick swallowed. "You guess? Was that the first time you tried it?"

"Um... yes, but I'm sure it's fine. Just maybe don't eat with spoons for a day or two."

Ema started dumping the bag of Snackoos straight into her mouth.

"Hang on," Maya interjected suddenly, frowning. "Reigen couldn't see Dimple before?"

Nick thought he saw Mob hesitate for just a moment before he answered, "Ah... no, he said that Dimple was too weak of a spirit for him to see before."

"Of course he did," Dimple muttered. Mob's gaze flickered toward him, and suddenly the spirit looked a little guilty. "Er, I mean– he was probably messing with you, Shigeo. I'm sure he could see me before, too."

Nick raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with Maya. Neither of them knew what to make of the pensive look on Mob's face.

"Oh god I can't take much more of this," Ema groaned, crumpling up the empty bag of Snackoos and shoving it into the pocket of her lab coat. "I don't know anything about ghosts, but I can sure show you a crime scene. If we're gonna investigate, then let's investigate. I'll deal with the... the ghost bit in a minute when my brain isn't screaming."

Maya gave a salute. "Lead the way, Detective!"

As Ema managed to find her sea legs again (with a little help from Maya) and headed back into the room, Nick pulled Mob aside, just outside the door.

"Hey, Mob... so, is there... is there a spirit in there?"

Mob leaned around the doorframe to peer into the room. "I can't see it," he said quietly, "but I can feel it. It's probably hiding."

Nick swallowed. Wonderful. "Um, is it... y'know... dangerous?"

Mob shook his head. "I don't think it's very strong. But most spirits aren't very happy, either, or else they wouldn't be here."

"Haha... I guess not..."

"Heh, its nothing to worry about with Shigeo around," Dimple sneered. "He's so strong that he almost exorcised me, you know."

 _It doesn't seem like it would take much more than a strong wind to get rid of you, though_ , Nick thought.

"Is there any way for us to talk to it?" he said aloud, suddenly turning a little red as he realized the patent stupidity of asking a middle schooler to hold a seance in the middle of a crime scene.

"I can bring it out," Mob confirmed. "Do you want me to do it now?"

"N-No," Nick said hurriedly, holding up his hands. "Let's give Ema a break for now and wait until she leaves, I think we almost broke her."

Mob nodded, pursing his lips and looking a little troubled, and Nick cursed himself for not putting it more delicately. But before he could reassure him, he heard Maya calling out to them.

"Crime scene's a-waitin' boys! Lets get these clues while they're hot!"

"Maya..." Ema chided, but she sounded too tired to fight with her.

When they entered the room, the smell of smoke that permeated the rest of the house increased tenfold and nearly made Nick choke. There was another smell, too, that didn't bear thinking about.

Like the other rooms of the house, the bedroom was huge, but sparsely furnished. An empty bed frame in one corner, a singed bookshelf in another, and a floor length mirror hanging on the wall to the right of the door made up the room's trappings. Across from the door there was a grand French style window, which had been swung open. The wallpaper was covered in soot and burnt in some spots, but in the areas where the damage wasn't as severe, Nick could tell that it was cream with gold and deep maroon print. Or perhaps it was white and had just yellowed with age?

The floors were hardwood and just as nice as the wallpaper, but the fire had eaten away at it considerably. And in the very center of the room, surrounded by a deep black pile of ash and soot, was the outline of a body.

"Watch your step and keep close to the door," Ema warned sharply. "Thankfully the fire didn't do a whole lot of damage to the rest of the house, but it really did a number on the floor in here."

"Roger that." Nick took a cautious step closer to the spot where the body lay, trying to ignore the lingering smell of what he assumed was burnt flesh. "Why didn't it spread faster?"

"Because the house is nearly empty," Ema explained. She waved her hand around the room, looking up at the high ceiling. "The fire started in the center of the room here, and there wasn't much of anything to fuel it besides the bookshelf and the wallpaper, which it couldn't reach. You can see the ceiling started to catch fire, so the wallpaper did eventually catch too, and it spread from this room to the hallway leading to the stairwell, but that's when the firefighters arrived on the scene to put it out. If there had been rugs and furniture in here, it would have been a different story."

"I see..."

"What started the fire?" Maya asked, looking a little queasy as she tried not to stare at the ashes.

"Accelerants. We found traces of kerosene at the scene. Looks like the perp poured kerosene on the body and lit it up. He didn't douse the rest of the room, though, which is why the fire mostly stayed at the epicenter."

"Why wouldn't the killer burn the rest of the room?" Nick wondered.

Ema shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe he was in a hurry. Maybe he wanted to limit the chances of us finding accelerants so that it would look like an accident, or maybe he's just an idiot and overestimated how flammable the house was. Could be a lot of reasons."

"I guess so," Nick admitted.

The detective sighed dejectedly, taking another bag of snackoos out of her lab coat. "Either way, DNA testing the corpse is out of the question in that condition, so it's a real pain in the ass. Er- butt," she corrected, glancing at Mob.

Mob, however, didn't seem to hear her. He was staring at the outline of the body, eyes glazed and shoulders tense.

Ema raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you okay, kid?"

"Shigeo," Dimple hissed, giving his cheek a nudge. "You're zoning out."

Mob jumped, a little bit of color returning to his face, which had gone very pale a moment ago. "S-Sorry," he murmured, taking a step back toward the door. "I... don't like fires."

"Are you okay?" Maya asked, concerned. She knelt down in front of him, pressing a hand to his forehead and brushing the hair from his eyes. "Mob, you've gone all clammy..."

Dimple watched intently, his child's scrawl of a face twisted with a strange anxiety.

It all made Nick start to feel uneasy. "Mob, do you need to get some air?" he asked, hoping the boy didn't hear his worry.

"N-No," Mob said quickly, looking nervous, "It's... I'm..."

There was a long silence as Mob looked around at them all, frozen like a deer in headlights, his mouth hanging open as he tried to think of something to say. Nick's brow furrowed as he watched the boy wring his hands and realized they were shaking. But he also noticed that Mob seemed more flustered by their stares than the room, and he wondered if it was simply the sudden pressure of everyone's attention that was making him so antsy.

But after a long moment, Mob set his jaw and looked down at his feet, gently setting a hand on top of Maya's wrist. "I'm fine," he mumbled, although he was still sweating. But then, it didn't seem to take much to make Mob sweat. He was a bit like his boss, in that way.

Maya still seemed worried, but she pulled her hand away and stood back up, giving him a pat on the back. "I don't like fires much, either," she sighed. "Or crime scenes, for that matter. Nothing to be ashamed of if this place makes you nervous. If you need to take a break, you just let us know, kiddo."

Mob nodded, looking a little calmer, but Dimple didn't seem to be put at ease, still watching Mob carefully. Ema shot Nick a somewhat judgmental glance, which took a great effort not to wither under. She must have learned that glare from Edgeworth.

Finally, Ema let out a tired sigh and had another fistful of snackoos. "Anyway, that's about all I have to say about the body until I hear more from the MEs," she managed around a mouthful of chocolate. "There were a couple of... odd things I asked them to look into, which I noted in your copy of the report. I'll make sure an updated autopsy report is sent your way once I get it."

"That would be a nice change of pace," Nick mumbled.

"As for the rest of the scene, there's also what your client identified as the victim's equipment bag." She deftly thumbed through her case file for a photograph, which she held out to Nick with a somewhat disparaging look. He squinted at the picture, which showed a worn black backpack and a handful of small electronic devices that Nick didn't recognize. "EMF meter, radio frequency sweeper, audio recorder, all that jazz. The stuff you usually see on those ghost reality shows."

"You sound awfully skeptical for somebody who just saw her first ghost," Maya teased.

Ema glanced at Dimple, her nose crinkled in distaste. "Yeah, well, maybe ghosts really are out there, but this kinda tech is a crock of crap if you ask me. It's just an expensive scam aimed at thrill seekers like our vic."

"That's probably true," Mob admitted, rubbing his arm. "If a spirit really wants to communicate with you, it'll usually just show itself."

"Pretty much," Dimple agreed. "Although sometimes we have fun with it. Heh, one time some kid brought one of those spirit box things to a house I was haunting and the noise was so annoying that I made it get stuck on a radio drama about dairy farmers and let him try to puzzle out what it could mean."

Everyone stared.

Dimple coughed. "Anyway... why'd you move the equipment?"

"It was all wiped of finger prints." Ema frowned at the case file, adjusting her glasses. "Nothing on the bag or its contents. According to Reigen, the vic was wearing leather gloves all night, but it's still strange. We sent it to the lab to see if there were any prints on the interior mechanisms from changing batteries or making any kind of repairs, but we took photos of the scene before moving anything, of course." She handed Nick another handful of photographs of the room from just about every angle. "Feel free to look through those. If you need anything enlarged, let me know."

Maya and Mob drew up next to Nick, looking through the photos with him. One in particular caught his eye – a pile of ashes beside the body that appeared to have something thin and white sticking out of it.

"What's that?" Mob asked curiously, apparently noticing Nick's attention.

Ema peered over Nick's shoulder and immediately, her expression lightened up. "That," she said, almost giddy, "is _very_ interesting."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Interesting how?"

Ema's surliness all but melted away as she let her glasses fall down to the bridge of her nose, and the little girl who taught Nick how to test for fingerprints made her appearance. A sudden fondness tugged at the corner of Nick's mouth. _There_ was the Ema he knew – endlessly curious and endearingly macabre.

"If you look closely, you can see that there's a sheet of paper in there," Ema pointed out, leaning in close to peer at the photo. "And if you look even closer, you can see that a lot of the ashes are still intact. Strangely, it looks like our perp decided to burn some papers at the last moment, or maybe discovered them and quickly tossed them into the fire. Either way, I don't think he lit them on fire along with the body, which is weird."

"Hmm..." Nick glanced over to where the pile of ashes should have been beside the body's outline, but they weren't there. "I'm guessing you sent it off to the lab?"

"Yep," Ema confirmed. "Moving them was risky, but it's a lot safer to do the tests down there. And that way we can test it for accelerants and the like." Her eyes twinkled. "But... before I was so rudely interrupted by Maya trying to sneak a grade schooler into my crime scene–"

"Hey," Maya said defensively, putting a protective arm around Mob's shoulders, "he's a _middle_ schooler."

"...Right. Anyway, before they came along, I was just about to test out a new toy of mine."

With a dramatic flair, Ema pulled a camera and a small flashlight from the folds of her lab coat. "Ta-da! Meet my Infrared Reflective Photography kit."

Maya cooed, apparently approving of Ema's theatrics. "Is that gonna show you what the paper said before it was burned?"

"Indeed it will," Ema confirmed, smiling a bit smugly. She enjoyed playing the part of lecturer. "By bouncing an infrared light off the paper at an angle and taking a photo with a modified digital camera, we can see what was written on the paper. And it just so happens," she said slyly, taking a plastic evidence bag from yet another pocket within her seemingly bottomless lab coat, "that there was one piece of the page that wasn't in the pile sent to the forensics lab."

"Why not?" Nick asked.

"I didn't notice it at first. It was in a different part of the room, which makes me think it was torn off, possibly in a struggle. And I would really love to know why, wouldn't you?"

Nick wasn't entirely sure that he did, but Mob was staring intently at the burnt paper, his lips pursed and hands folded nervously in front of him. Nick tried to smooth over his expression and gave Mob a pat on the head as if to say, _Don't worry_. It was _his_ job to worry. But first and foremost, it was also his job to find the truth, no matter how bad it looked for his client.

"Let's do it, then."

Ema nodded, flashing a smile. She knelt down on the ground and opened the bag, very carefully tearing the plastic at the top rather than trying to slide the paper out. When she was finished, what looked to be a small corner of a sheet of notebook paper was lying safely on a sheet of plastic on the floor between her and Nick.

"Take this," she said briskly, handing Nick the flashlight.

"Is this the infrared light?"

"It's an infrared LED, yes. If you'll shine it at an angle from... _there_ , don't move. That's perfect."

After adjusting Nick's angle, Ema shuffled off her coat. "You there, Mob, right?"

Mob blinked. "Y-Yes?"

"Hold my coat up like a curtain between Mr. Wright and I and the light from the window, would you?"

Mob looked confused, but he took the coat anyway, holding it up between them on the tips of his toes.

"What can I do?" Maya asked.

"Um... snackoo me."

"Roger." Maya took a snackoo from the lab coat pocket and fed it to Ema, whose hands were full with the camera.

"Thank you," Ema said solemnly.

"You're welcome."

And with that, Ema snapped her picture.

Once everyone had gotten themselves sorted out with Ema back in her signature lab coat, Mob back to hanging nervously at Nick's elbow, Dimple hovering at _Mob's_ elbow, and Maya back to munching on Ema's snackoos –

Once Ema had her snackoos back, everyone gathered round to see the writing on the camera's screen.

 **REIGE**

The corners of Mob's mouth went funny and he stepped back, swallowing hard. As he stepped back, Nick heard a surprised grunt.

"What the– what are _you_ doing here?"

Ema paled and Maya's eyes went wide. Nick didn't even have to turn around to know who Mob had just run into.

 _Shit_ , he thought.

"All these years and you're still bringing children to trample all over my crime scene like a pack of wildebeests, Mr. Phoenix Wright?"

When Nick turned around, he was greeted by a woman with short silver hair, a keen glare, and clutching an even keener whip.

Nick swallowed. "Long time, no see, Prosecutor von Karma."

"Not long enough," Franziska said drily, but it was difficult to tell the difference between good natured ribbing and genuine disdain with her sometimes. Maybe there wasn't much of a difference when it came to Franziska von Karma. "Miss Fey," she said politely, giving Maya a nod. It took Maya a moment to respond in kind, as she seemed to be staring at Franziska's hair – while it had been short when she was younger, she now wore it in a closely cropped pixie that framed her face rather nicely. There were new frown lines etched between her brows and under her eyes that reminded Nick of Edgeworth. For a moment, he again felt that unexpected fondness that almost made him want to smile. But he got the impression that he might have the sharp end of that whip to answer to if he didn't hurry and explain why he'd brought a middle schooler to her crime scene.

"Erm, Prosecutor, this is–"

"I know who he is," Franziska said coldly. "I was about to be on my way to his home to ask him some questions. Kageyama Shigeo, correct?"

Ema went deathly pale and looked at Nick, shocked and somewhat hurt as she realized that he'd fooled her. This time, he did wither from her glare. It wasn't going to be easy to earn her forgiveness after this.

Mob, caught dead in Franziska's icy stare, looked like he might pass out.

"Get a grip, Shigeo," Dimple whispered frantically, tugging on Mob's collar until he finally seemed to find his voice again.

"Y...Yes..." Mob said faintly.

Franziska eyed him a moment, then mercifully turned her gaze back to Nick. If looks could kill, he would be dead on the floor. Probably whipped to death.

"Detective Gumshoe said that you're representing that fool Reigen, yes?"

"Yes," Nick said hesitantly.

"And your first action as his attorney was to bring one of his colleagues to my crime scene?"

Nick flinched. There wasn't much of a defense for this one. "We... we brought him as an independent consultant."

"Independent consultants are supposed to be unbiased third parties, Mr. Phoenix Wright. Did you forget how to conduct yourself at a crime scene during your disbarment?"

 _It's great to see you, too,_ Nick thought.

Franziska didn't wait for an answer. She simply turned to Ema, her arms crossed and fingers tapping against her signature Juliet sleeve. "I assume you've shown Mr. Wright and his associates the scene?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Ema stammered, scrambling to quickly transferring the burnt scrap of paper into a new evidence bag. "I've given them all the documentation, as well."

"Excellent. Then I assume, Mr. Phoenix Wright," she said, her voice lowering dangerously, "that you understand the weight of the evidence against your client?"

Nick swallowed. "Yes. But I can say with full certainty that my client is innocent."

"And if he's innocent, then your case isn't airtight," Maya said, her tough tone still somewhat undermined by the way she kept staring at Franziska's hair.

Franziska raised an eyebrow, smirking a little at the challenge in spite of herself. "No? Then let me remind you, not only was your client the only person in the house by his own admission, but there are no signs of a break in or evidence of anyone else having set foot in this house for years."

"Yes, but–"

"And his fingerprints were found on the murder weapon."

"Y-Yes, but that's–"

"And the chloroform points to premeditation rather than self-defense."

"Yes, b–" Nick blinked. "Chloroform?"

Ema jumped. "A-Ah, I hadn't gotten to that yet, Prosecutor von Karma." She took back the stack of photographs from Nick and nervously shuffled through them, trying to ignore Franziska's eyes boring holes into the back of her head. "Here, beneath the mirror, we found two bottles in the room. One is just a bottle of water, and the other is chloroform."

Sure enough, in the photo that Ema pressed into Nick's unsteady hands, there were two bottles – one clear plastic, the other dark glass – sitting beneath the mirror as if they had rolled there.

"Your client's fingerprints were found on that, as well, Mr. Phoenix Wright."

Nick's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He had no explanation for that. Even Maya bit her lip, staring hard at the photo.

"It's not his."

Everyone turned in surprise to look at Mob, who seemed to have regained his composure. If Dimple had hair, he looked like he would have been clutching it frantically.

Franziska raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she said coldly. "You recognize it?"

"N-No," Mob said quickly, shrinking a little, but still meeting Franziska's eye with a steeliness that surprised Nick. "But... it's not Shishou's. He would never own such a thing. Reigen-shishou... isn't the type of person to harm others."

The room was filled with a heavy silence as everyone stared at Mob with various degrees of shock or horror. Franziska's expression, however, was smooth.

Then, to Nick's surprise, she knelt down in front of Mob and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's admirable of you to defend your friend," she said, so gently that Nick nearly thought a spirit had possessed her. "But people can surprise you. I'm very sorry for what happened, but this isn't a place for children. It would be best for you to go home and let the court settle the matter. I know you want to help, but it will only make things more difficult if you get involved."

Mob looked almost as taken aback as Nick, having apparently steeled himself for a fight. But his face seemed to cycle through multiple emotions, her words catching him off guard. In the end, he simply lowered his head, his eyes hidden behind his choppy bangs, and said nothing more.

Franziska stood back up, and when she looked at Nick, she was far less gentle. "As for _you_ ," she hissed, "you ought to know better than to bring someone like him here. It will only damage both him and your case. I'll let this go just once, Mr. Phoenix Wright. For the boy's sake." She leaned in close, her whip clutched tightly in her hand. "But pull a foolish stunt like this again, and I can't guarantee another miraculous comeback after your next disbarment."

Nick swallowed. When she was seventeen, Franziska's threats had been a lot less... well, threatening.

"I'm going to meet with the medical examiners," she said finally, turning on her heel. "In the meantime, I encourage you to take that boy home so that I can send Detective Gumshoe to question him with his parents present. If he isn't there by the time Gumshoe arrives..." She slung the whip over her shoulder, casting Nick a withering glance from the corner of her eye. "I'll be visiting your office."

And with that, she stepped out of the room.

"Wait, Miss von Karma!"

Maya's shout startled everyone. Franziska halted, turning around in confusion. "Yes, Miss Fey?"

"I like your hair. It really suits you."

There was a long silence.

Then, to Nick's surprise, Franziska's cheeks turned pink. "Th... Thank you," she said awkwardly, "I also– yours is– ahem. Thanks." She tripped on the doorframe on her way out.

With great dignity, Franziska straightened back up and walked down the stairs, probably to take out her embarrassment on Gumshoe. Once she was out of earshot, the entire room seemed to sigh with great relief.

"Well," Dimple said, "that went well."


End file.
